PHR Releases Accounts of Violence in Syria

Violations of medical neutrality and attacks on civilians described by Syrian citizens

Cambridge, Mass - 08/10/2011

Since
mid-March, Syrian government forces have sought to crush citizen uprisings; more
than 1,700 people have been killed and at least 10,000 are reported to be in
custody or missing. In addition to the widely reported atrocities committed by
the government, PHR has received reports of serious violations of medical
neutrality in Syria. PHR calls on the Government of Syria to cease its
campaign of targeting medical facilities, health workers and their patients,
and to safeguard doctors’ obligation to provide neutral and ethical care for
civilians.

According
to PHR sources in the country, government security forces control access to the
hospitals, and many injured civilians in need of critical care are foregoing
treatment because they fear being detained and tortured if they seek care at
government-controlled medical facilities. Representatives Jim McDermott (D-WA)
and Walter Jones (R-NC) recently introduced the Medical Neutrality Protection Act of 2011
(H.R. 2643)(pdf), which reflects increased US focus on the importance of protecting medical
neutrality. PHR calls on members of Congress to support this bill so that the
U.S. can promptly and effectively respond to violations of medical neutrality,
such as the ones documented in Syria.

“While
it’s well known that Syria has been attacking its own citizens,” said Director
of Policy Hans Hogrefe, “their targeted attacks on doctors and hospitals have
gone largely unnoticed. All attacks on civilians are severe violations of human
rights and we condemn them. But attacks on hospitals and caregivers are
particularly devastating. When you attack a doctor, you’re attacking all the
patients who depend on that doctor.”

PHR
interviewed one doctor from the besieged city of Hama who reported, “Shabiha
and government security forces are situated near and on the roof of hospitals
to prevent injured from reaching hospitals. Because of the shooting, it is
difficult for anyone to move, and many injured have died due to hemorrhage. The
hospitals suffer from a lack of blood supply.” According to an official
document PHR obtained from the health department of the city of Homes, dated
April 12, all hospitals have been ordered to “send all the injured due to the
events (unrest) by ambulance, with security escort, to the military hospital in
Homes.” In addition, the government has detained or disappeared 134 doctors,
according to a group of Syrian physicians.

PHR
sources report other violations of medical neutrality:

“At the beginning of the protest, the security
forces (Shabbiha) shot in the air to disperse the protesters. When they failed
to disband the protest, they started to shoot at them with live ammunition. On
the fifth Friday of the protest, the security forces killed 30 and injured
dozens of the protesters. A friend of mine, Osama, was shot by a sniper. He got a bullet in his neck. We did not take the injured to the main government hospital because they were afraid that they would be tortured or arrested or killed there. The private hospitals have
refused to receive any injuries based on orders from the government. The only
two clinics receiving injuries were charity hospitals. These clinics were
simple and had no blood to save the bleeding. One of them has only two doctors
to treat dozens of injuries. Many of the injured died because of lack of
medical treatment.” A 27-year-old shop owner from Homes

“At
the beginning of June, the Syrian army attacked our town Jisr alshagour. There
were many killed and injured. I took some of the injured to the hospital in the
town. I found nobody there; the hospital was empty. On that day, June 4th,
45 people were killed, we put some of the autopsies in the fruit cooling truck
because the fridge of the hospital has capacity of only four. I took some medical supplies from the
hospital and put two injured in an ambulance car, which was left, and then
crossed the Turkish border. A helicopter shot at the ambulance; however, we
succeeded to transfer the injured.” A 35-year-old manager from Jisr alshagour

“My brother, 43 years old,
died after being tortured by the Syrian secret police. My brother was a
peaceful, well-educated, secular physician who was respected by his peers
internationally. He was recently in Miami,
attending a medical conference. Apparently, they did not like the fact that he
went to the US
to attend a medical conference. They wanted to interrogate him about his US
visit, and he died during the interrogation. Reportedly, he had broken bones
and injuries from trying to defend himself from the blows. He died from
strangulation. In the morgue, the secret police, the Mukhabarat, told his
family that they had never had Sakher in their custody, but instead that they
had found him dead in the street.” A 50-year-old oncology researcher

The
reports from Syria reflect a
worrisome trend in the Middle East regarding
government attacks on the medical profession. PHR has documented abuses against
doctors and hospitals in Bahrain and Libya, and condemns continued violations
in these countries. PHR calls on the government of Syria to immediately cease all
attacks on civilians, including violations of medical neutrality.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a New York-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to stop mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. Learn more here.